Summer Series heats up

Bendigo Weekly | Bendigo Weekly | 10-Feb-2012

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AWESOME FOURSOME: Brendan Shultz, Shaun McCarthy, Darren Lapthorne and Lachlan Stewart. Photo: Darren Casey
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Last weekend’s Café Roubaix Summer Series saw even larger fields and an even larger crowd turn out for three grades of fast paced cycling action at Mayfair Park.
In the Ronde Gloves C Grade 20 minutes-plus three-lap event the lead changed hands several times, with the consistent Tom Floyd proving too strong for veteran Steve Flood and series leader Mat Runnalls in third place.
A large field of 40 riders then took to the circuit for the Hume & Iser B Grade 30 minutes-plus three-laps race, with several riders including Daryl Stewart testing the nerve of the peleton by trying to establish a breakaway.
In the end, it was Martin Banfield who took the points, followed by Brad McCallum and Nick Gates.
Then it was the turn of the Symes Motors A Grade riders, and this week’s quality field included Commonwealth Games gold medallist Sean Finning, the versatile Lachie Norris and triathlon champ Leon Griffin, as well as German rider Timon Loderer and locals Kate Finegan, Luke Drummond, Tim Hucker, Peter Ladd and Luke Knox.
The experience, strength and ability of Darren Lapthorne, Shaun McCarthy, Brendan Schultz and Lauchie Stewart proved too much however, with the quartet lapping the field inside of 16 minutes from the start in an awesome display of riding.
Lapthorne showed he was still the man to beat for the Symes Motors A Grade title by taking out the race, ahead of McCarthy and Schultz. Stewart failed to shake off a bad cramp five minutes from the finish in the hard luck story of the day.
Marshals included Sam Jelbart, Tony Jelbart, Garry Pont., Andrew Creek, Ben Knight, Tom Cobden and Petar Benjamin.
Racing continues this Sunday at Mayfair Park from 9am.
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